IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine women's cross country cruised to a team victory at the Irvine Invitational Friday morning at the Great Park.
 
The Anteaters, who co-hosted the season-opening meet with Concordia, finished with 20 points. They were 51 points ahead of the Eagles in second.
 
"It was good to get the team win," UCI distance coach Casey Kear said. "We had a good pack up front. Our top 10 to 12 were all very close together, giving us a lot more depth than we had last year. We still had a couple of our top runners not competing today so once we get the team back to full strength we'll be in a really good spot."
 
The 'Eaters occupied seven of the top-10 spots in the individual standings. Sophomore Kaia Schmidt led the way in third, covering the 6K course in 22:03.7. Junior Makena Castillo was right on her heels in fourth, crossing the finish line in 22:05.2.
 
Freshmen Daisy Penney (22:09.1) and Liana Lee (22:16.1) both had an impressive collegiate debut, placing fifth and sixth, respectively. Junior transfer Nicole Contreras also finished seventh in her first race as an Anteater with a time of 22:19.1, while freshman Cynthia Herrera (22:19.3) was eighth and freshman Anna Soares (22:34.4) was 10th.
 
UC Irvine had an additional five student-athletes among the top-20. Freshman Jackie Pan took 11th at 22:35.5. Senior Malia Gay (22:39.7) placed 13th and was followed by sophomore Marjourie Lopez (22:43.8) and senior Montgomery Allison (22:46.3). Freshman Rachel Moen also had an 18th-place showing (22:55.9).
 
The Anteaters will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 21, when they head to the Inland Empire for the UC Riverside Invitational.